Discovery Shuttle May Roll Back to Pad Early, NASA Says

CAPE CANAVERAL - ShuttleDiscovery is to be separated from its fuel tank and rocket boosters thismorning, after its rollback last week to the Vehicle Assembly Building atKennedy Space Center.

Though the maneuver wasbehind schedule, the shuttle could return to the launch pad earlier thanthought, a spokeswoman said.

The shuttle was rolled backfrom the launch pad so it could be mated with a modified tank originally scheduledto fly with Atlantis.

Lightning storms haltedcrane operations inside the vast assembly building Wednesday.

The safety precautionslowed workers' efforts to "de-mate" the orbiter from its externalfuel tank and boosters.

"They lifted the slingthis morning, and they're working on attaching the sling to Discovery,"NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said Wednesday.

Discovery is scheduled tobe mated with its new tank around June 7, then roll out to the launch pad --again -- on June 14.

But despite the delays thisweek, it may be able to mate and move a couple of days earlier than planned,Rye said.

Final wire routing andspraying of insulating foam is taking place on the fuel tank that will fly withDiscovery, she said.

The tank has a new heaterdesigned to prevent buildup of ice during fueling with supercold propellants.Ice can fly off the tank during launch and damage the orbiter.

NASA anticipates Discoverywill fly in a launch window that extends from July 13 to July 31.

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